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The chief executive at hedge fund manager Winton Capital Management is to step down early next year, Financial News has learnt, but will remain at the firm.

Anthony Daniell will make way for Tony Fenner-Leitao in the chief executive role, according to a person familiar with the move. Fenner-Leitao, a former Goldman Sachs executive director, joined Winton in June 2008 and has been deputy-CEO since October.

The switch is pending regulatory approval.

A spokesman for Winton declined to comment.

Winton, founded in 1997 by managed futures pioneer David Harding, runs $26bn, making it the largest managed futures firm in Europe. Managed futures use computer algorithms to capture trends in global markets.

This year to December 20, its flagship Winton Futures Fund was down about 4%, according to an investor. The average systematic macro fund has lost 3.46% in the first 11 months of this year, according to data provider Hedge Fund Research.

Daniell’s working relationship with Winton began over a decade ago when he started working at Eday Ltd, a company that marketed absolute return funds. In 2003, Winton engaged Eday and Daniell to market its products and Daniell then joined Winton in October 2004 as head of global marketing and sales. He became a director in October 2006 and was appointed chief executive four years later.